March 2024 Newsletter

Extended version | Published March 7th, 2024

OCFSN March Newsletter

  • There are currently three funding opportunities through the Agricultural Marketing Service’s Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP).

    New Venture Advisors, LLC has written A GUIDE TO USDA LAMP GRANTS FOR FOOD SYSTEM PROJECTS that is very informative and includes a helpful table that compares the three different grants under LAMP.

    The FY 2024 grant application period for all three of these grants is open through May 14, 2024.

  • Please respond to the this survey by March 30th to help us plan for the OCFSN Full Network Convening and finalize dates .

  • The Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Oregon Farm to School Equipment and Infrastructure Grant Program is open for applications through April 10th at 5pm. Grant Info Webinar this Friday March 8th 10am-11:30.

    The goal of this competitive grant program is to provide financial resources for Oregon farmers, ranchers, seafood harvesters, fishermen, and processors with specific equipment and infrastructure needs, and who intend to sell food produced (grown, harvested, gathered, raised, caught or processed) in Oregon to any of the following ODE Child Nutrition Program (CNP) food sponsors and Tribal entities:

    A school district participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP);

    A provider of center-based programs for children in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP);

    An entity that provides meals through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP); and

    Tribal schools, Tribal Early Learning/Childhood Education sites, and other Tribal youth meal programs.

Working Group Updates

  • Missed a meeting? You can find recordings of working group meetings on OCFSN’s Youtube Channel and other materials in our Public Google Drive.

    Stay looped into the latest news for each of the working groups by joining the mailing lists: How to Use OCFSN Google Groups.

  • ICYMI: watch the February meeting recording which included updates from Black Food Sovereignty Future and Info Session for the Hub Worker Safety & Infrastructure Grant Program. Missed it? No worries! In addition, we have created an FAQ that you may use as a reference.

    Food Hub grants are open through March 15. Learn more and apply here.

    Upcoming Meeting: The next Oregon Food Hub Club Monthly Meeting is on February 26th at 1:00pm. Zoom link.

  • The Veggie Rx working group is hosting the first of two workshops where we will be taking a deeper dive into the Fidelity, Equity and Dignity (FED) Workbook with DAISA (FED Workbook). Although it is not required, different information will be addressed at each workshop so we suggest attending both! They both will be recorded and posted. The second meeting will be Wednesday, April 3rd at the same time. Here is a link to the OCFSN YouTube channel that contains the Veggie Rx Quarterly Meeting from January 31st, 2024, where DAISA does an overview of the topic.

    Our next scheduled working group (virtual) convening will be on April 24th at 9am.

  • We are excited to have closed our first round of the Farmer & Rancher Disaster Resilience Grants Program! With over 200 applications received this round, we have seen incredible interest and many creative ideas to improve disaster resilience on small farms across the state. Thank you so much for helping to spread the word. March is when the Grant Review Committee scores applications. Awards will be distributed in April. We look forward to sharing the outcomes of this first round of grants with you all in April/May!

    Convening:

    The working group is planning our annual convening this May. If you are interested in attending or want to learn more, please complete this short survey to gauge your interest and availability. Your input will help us create a great event. There are several open ended questions at the end of the survey, if you don't have any thoughts on those, feel free to leave them blank.

    Meetings:

    February 15th Beginning Farmer & Rancher Subgroup meeting notes and recording. Next meeting will either be part of the convening or virtual on May 16th at 10am.

    Transitioning Oregon's Farmland BFRDP core team and advisory committee have been meeting regularly and the team put on a great track on land access at the Small Farms Conference.

    Farm Viability and Climate Resilience subgroups have been on hiatus as we create and distribute the Disaster Resilience Grants. We're planning for spring meetings and look forward to connecting with you on these topics soon.

  • The Community Food Systems at the Legislature Working Group

    Please connect with Summer Wong, OCFSN Policy Intern, at summer@ocfsn.org if you have any questions.

    The next and final monthly working group meeting for this legislative session is on March 12th at 11:30am (Zoom). We will hear about outcomes on bills and priorities for this session, and learn about outcomes from other ally priorities in housing, workers rights and social justice. Email cfs-policy+subscribe@ocfsn.org to join that working group list.

    Policy, Engagement, Advocacy and Skills (PEAS) Working Group

    The Policy, Engagement, Advocacy and Skills (PEAS) Working Group is hosting a Nonprofit Lobbying and Advocacy 101 session on March 7th at 11am (Zoom). Come learn from Alice Morrison of FoFF about the ins and outs of how nonprofits can advocate and lobby for food systems policy. To learn more and get updates, join this list by emailing.

    To learn more and get updates, join this list by emailing - public-policy+subscribe@ocfsn.org

How did OCFSN impact your organization in the past year?

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

  • Add virtual events to your calendar by visiting the Oregon Food Systems Calendar.

    • March 7th | 11:00 am: Policy, Engagement, Advocacy and Skills (PEAS) Working Group - Nonprofit Lobbying and Advocacy 101

    • March 12th | 11:30 am: Community Food Systems at the Legislature Working Group Meeting

    • March 26th | 1:00 pm: Food Hub Working Group Monthly Meeting

  • In addition to OCFSN Grant Programs, there are several other grant programs that will be open for applications in the months ahead. We will be working to keep our Grants page updated with information about current and upcoming funding opportunities.

  • National Farm Viability Conference

    Registration for the 6th National Farm Viability Conference is open NOW.

    This conference features engaging workshop sessions and bring together professionals from across the nation for peer-to-peer learning and networking with a focus on strengthening farm sustainability, building stronger and more resilient local food systems, and supporting the long-term profitability of farming and agri-entrepreneurs from start-ups to generational businesses.

    Oregon Tilth and OSU’s Center for Small Farms and Community Food Systems hosted this event in 2021. This year’s conference is happening LIVE in West Virginia.

  • Visit our Jobs page to learn about employment opportunities.

  • Visit our Volunteer page to learn about volunteer opportunities.

Please reach out to info@ocfsn.org with any questions regarding the content of this or future newsletters. To get email notifications when newsletter issues drop, join our mailing list below.